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Big aircraft have a strong attraction for most virtual pilots. Sure, it's nice to zip around the skies in a Cessna 172 or a Piper Chieftain but to get behind the controls of a really big plane is to know the power of flight. The great advantage that Flight Simulator still has over Fly! and Flight Unlimited 3 is that it has the ability to simulate large jets. Flight Simulator 2000 comes with four jet aircraft. To the venerable Learjet that has been there from the start, and the Boeing 737, which made its first appearance in Flight Simulator 95, have been added the Boeing 777 and the Concorde. There are also dozens of third party-added transport aircraft now available for Flight Simulator 2000. Along with this, Microsoft has updated standard panels for the jet aircraft to support EFIS systems as well as GPSs. This article will be concentrating on the first two jets.

The Learjet EFIS panel. This is easier to use than the real EFIS system and there aren't as many options
Dealing with Lear woes
The first aircraft we will look at is the Lear 45. This is the smallest of the four jets but it comes with the biggest problem. The tendency of this aircraft in Flight Simulator 2000 to pitch steeply renders it almost uncontrollable. This is not, incidentally, a characteristic of the actual aircraft, just of the simulation. Adjusting your joystick sensitivity settings can partially alleviate the problem and will, at the very least, make the aircraft flyable. The default setting for the elevator axis is midway along the slide bar. Increase them all the way up to maximum. That's right, maximum. You might think that decreasing the sensitivity would be more effective but Microsoft has ordained it otherwise. While you have the panel open also increase the rudder sensitivity if you are lucky enough to have rudder pedals. This will help counteract the over-responsiveness experienced during the taxiing of the aircraft.

Another problem with the flight model of the Learjet in Flight Simulator is the aggressive pitch up when deploying spoilers; typically this will be around 20 to 30 degrees. When you are about to deploy the spoilers to slow you down for a descent, apply some forward pressure on the column. This will stop the aircraft from ballooning.

Creating a flight plan from Meigs to the University of Illinois
Gadgetry galore
Now let's look at the instrumentation for this aircraft. The Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) used in the Learjet in Flight Simulator 2000 uses two displays. The artificial horizon (AH) is located at the top of the first panel. To the left of this is the speed tape that displays the indicated airspeed (IAS) of the aircraft. On a general note it is worthwhile setting the option to use indicated airspeed rather than true airspeed. The reason for this is that aircraft performance figures are supplied in indicated airspeed and although true airspeed aids with navigation it is more important to aviate. Getting back to the panel, at the top of the IAS tape the autopilot-set airspeed is displayed in purple. On the right hand side is the altitude tape. The air pressure is indicated in blue at the bottom of the tape and this should be adjusted so the height displayed in the box in the middle of the tape is within twenty feet of your airfield's height above sea level. At the top of the tape is the altitude setting for the autopilot. These auto pilot settings can be configured before the takeoff; it is advisable to do so as this will save you work once you are flying the aircraft.

Slaving the GPS to the autopilot, with the flight plan loaded
Time to turn our attention to that mess, at the bottom of the first panel, otherwise known as the Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI). This device replaces all your navigation aids, displaying them on the one digital display. The obvious advantage to this system is that you only have to look at one instrument, particularly if you are using two VORs or a VOR and an NDB to give you location, but beware of information overload. It is easy to get the arrows confused so only display the ones necessary for finding your location. The button at the bottom of the display labeled NAV changes the DME display from Nav1 to Nav2. The switch above the panel labeled GPS NAV allows you to slave the EHSI to the GPS. To do this you will need a flight plan that will automatically load into the GPS. You can slave the autopilot to the GPS as well. This is done by loading or creating a flight plan, selecting NAV in the autopilot settings, and switching the GPS/NAV switch to GPS. Another problem with Flight Simulator is that if you alter the autopilot setting while the autopilot is turned on, Flight Simulator may respond incorrectly to the changed autopilot settings. Always disengage the autopilot before setting it to your desired values and make sure that the climb/descent rate corresponds to your new settings. On the right, beside the EHSI, is the vertical speed indicator (VSI), which displays your climb and descent rates. With the Learjet you should try to not exceed 3000 feet per minute.

Using the GPS in the EHSI. The green GPS symbol tells you that you are tracking EON via the GPS, not the VOR
Land that puppy
The Instrument Landing System in the Learjet is split into two parts. The glideslope indicator is to the right of the artificial horizon while the course deviation indicator is in the middle of the EHSI. If you are accustomed to the analog version it may take you a little while to get used to this. There are no longer two needles crossing, indicating where you have to fly to be on glideslope and on course. The standard advice of "follow the needles" still applies; however, now you just fly towards the dots. Another change with jet aircraft is when joining the localizer you will have to enter on a shallower angle. Do not wait for the deviation marker to move before you bank to join the ILS. If you do wait it will be too late and you will overshoot the course.

The 737 panel. This has more digital gauges then the Learjet, but it is still a full EFIS system
Landing a turbine or jet aircraft is even more challenging than propeller-based aircraft. This is because turbine aircraft have different characteristics due to their power plants. Typically they are heavier than their propeller-based cousins and they travel at speeds which cause the aircraft to have much more inertia. The spool-up times for the engine to deliver power from a low throttle selection are much longer than for combustion engines. The slip stream effect of the propeller that provides some lift even at low speeds is not there for jet aircraft. What this means is that you will get much higher sink rates then you ever did in the prop aircraft, and to arrest this sink rate on landing will take earlier and larger throttle changes. Also, especially with the bigger jets yet to be discussed, you will need more distance to line up the aircraft and the larger the aircraft the smaller the changes you will be able to make on approach. Even when doing a visual approach in jet aircraft it is not unusual to use the Instrument Landing System to help you control the line up of these larger craft.

Boeing boing!
This leads us into the first of the Boeing family for Flight Simulator. Unlike the Learjet the B737 is nicely modeled in Flight Simulator 2000 and is a much more stable aircraft to fly. Still, you need to be gentle with this aircraft (actually, you need to be gentle with all aircraft).

Yes, you can just get the 737 to takeoff from Meigs. V2 and the aircraft is almost airborne
The instrumentation for the B737 is very much like that of the Learjet, although it has more analog dials (these, however, are more for backup than primary flight control). Going through some of differences, you will notice the airspeed indicator now has a pretty white and red hand. This reflects the never exceed speed (Vne). With jet aircraft the performance specifications have increased so much it is possible for an aircraft to exceed its structural specifications at lower altitudes depending on air density, so rather than the pilot having to calculate this all the time, this gauge does it for you. As the plane climbs and the air pressure decreases, the Vne rises. This should not be a problem below 10000ft, however, as according to air traffic control regulations aircraft flying at low altitude are not allowed to exceed 250 knots

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Page Updated Mon Feb 28, 2000 8:25pm EST